Pancake special

Pancakes on a weekday? Anything is possible when Carter gets up an hour early and decides to make pancake sandwiches for select animals—Scooba blue (bunny), Pink Bear, and Chita.

We used the Quaker oatmeal pancake mix Jeff bought for my Mothers’ Day breakfast in bed. We went with the “traditional style” whole egg over the “heart-healthy” egg-white only option then doctored the rest by skipping the oil, and adding 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce and a generous dash of vanilla. Carter loves to smell vanilla!

Carter already knows how to test the griddle to see if it’s hot enough, so he went ahead and got out a spoon to sprinkle water on the griddle. Then he listened for the sizzle and watched for the skitter. Today’s lesson: how to tell when a pancake is ready to be flipped. Answer: when it’s bubbling in the middle and becoming dry on the edges. Carter is a quick learner, saving a batch that had started to bubble from overcooking.

Carter: “I know why they’re called pancakes. They’re cakes you cook on a pan.” He had four: two sandwiches with jelly in the middle, like the Linzer cupcakes.

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"Wash your hands and put on your apron." My 10-year-old son, Carter, knows the first steps to baking. After all, he's been cracking eggs since he was 3. I work at home as a freelance editor and writer specializing in home and family. Read about our adventures in the kitchen and in life.